Meditation In West Hartford

One-on-one lessons | Learn to meditate

I’ve been studying meditation and meditating daily for 7 years, practicing each of the four styles outlined here. I teach meditation in West Hartford at my private yoga studio, and can meet you wherever you are in your meditation practice, showing you where to begin or helping you go deeper.

In your one-on-one meditation sessions, we can explore one or all techniques—we’ll find which techniques resonate with you.

Sessions include a short discussion and a 20-25-minute meditation practice.

About Meditation

People use meditation for relaxation and to reduce anxiety and stress. Others use it to ease depression and suffering. Meditation can also be useful to build concentration, for incessant thinking, chronic pain and insomnia. There is no right style of meditation to choose. In order to get the benefits, you will need to learn the proper technique for the meditation you wish to use. Different styles of meditation affect the brain in different ways, but all meditators benefit from feeling more calm, peaceful, focused and at ease.

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Meditation styles I teach

Concentration (focused attention meditation)

When we practice this style, students learn to concentrate on one specific thing for the duration of the meditation. With practice, students develop the ability to focus without succumbing to distractions. When those distractions come in, the focus is calmly brought back to the object of focus. With practice, the ability to focus the mind improves and the mind wanders less. We use techniques such as:

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Mantra meditation

A form of meditation that involves repeating a sound, syllable, word or words to focus the mind. This form of meditation is helpful to those who have a “busy mind” or feel a great deal of angst or suffering. It teaches students how to use the mind instead of feeling as though the mind is using you. It is a successful way to practice mind-control.

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Watching the breath

Focusing on the act of inhalation and exhalation

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Using the senses

Practicing present moment awareness

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Guided Visualization Meditation

I guide students through visualizations, to improve emotional and mental states.

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Body Scans

Students are guided through the body and search for areas of tension that are ready to be released. Students rest in a comfortable position and often reach a deep state of relaxation. Yoga Nidra, the art of yogic sleep, techniques are also incorporated to enhance release.

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Affirmation Meditations

Focus the mind to what is wanted so students feel better and attract more of what is wanted in life, rather than what is unwanted.

Open Monitoring (Mindfulness meditation)

With mindfulness meditation, students let their attention flow freely without judgment or attachment, rather than focusing on a specific thing. Through mindfulness, we observe all perceptions, thoughts, memories, expectation and senses during the practice. Students develop the quality of open monitoring, being mindful of their experience.

With mindfulness, we observe our experiences from a witnessing perspective rather than being attached to it in the moment. We observe rather than judge and soften criticisms and suffering that may occur. Without attachment, we release notions that experiences are “good” or “bad.” They just are and we become fully able to experience life as it is, rather than experiencing the story our mind is telling us about what is occurring.

This technique is extremely soothing when dealing with the intensities in life, such as loss of a loved one or job, depression, panic attacks and anxiety, phobias, major life transitions and illness.

Metta meditation (lovingkindness)

Lovingkindness is a Buddhists meditation technique that cultivates unconditional love and kindness towards oneself and other human beings. Practicing this type of meditation increases happiness brain waves and neural activity. It is helpful for cultivating self-love. Students do not need to be Buddhist and it will not interfere with any religious tradition. It is merely a practice used to cultivate compassion for self and others. Students choose loving kindness phrases that best suit them, then are guided through the 5-part meditation.

Effortless Awareness (universal consciousness)

Effortless presence is for the more advanced meditator and is a practice where the attention is not focused on anything in particular but rests the attention in the quiet, empty void of nothingness. Students are guided into a deep state of inner stillness where the mind releases thought and form attachment. It’s an effortless inner silence where students become one with pure presence, awareness, being and consciousness. Students rest in a comfortable position, in full consciousness and a deep connection to inner wisdom, connection and intuition.